


Winter Wonderland

by EnduranceinHope, ModernDayBard



Series: 2020 Nostalgia Christmas Fic Collaboration [5]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, The hobbits go skating, things don't go to plan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28188459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnduranceinHope/pseuds/EnduranceinHope, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ModernDayBard/pseuds/ModernDayBard
Summary: Merry forces his friends to go skating in the winter... Things don't quite go to plan.
Series: 2020 Nostalgia Christmas Fic Collaboration [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057715
Kudos: 4





	Winter Wonderland

**Author's Note:**

> Poster's Note: I do not own this lovely story. 'Tis the brain child of my lovely friend :) 
> 
> Author’s Note: So, less of a ‘nostalgia fandom,’ and more one I just haven’t written for on AO3 yet: Lord of the Rings.

As most hobbits shun the water, forgoing such summer pastimes as swimming and boating, neither are they very fond of ice and skating in the wintertime— _ most _ , that is. The Brandybucks had always been the exception to this general rule, and this winter had been the exception to the general rule that Shire winters rarely got cold enough to freeze the large pond in Buckland.

All this was to say that young Merriadoc Brandybuck was going skating, and he was dragging Pippin, Frodo, and even Sam along with him.

….

Of the four hobbit children, Sam was obviously the least happy with the escapade, and it took nearly an hour of reassuring, teasing, and even begging on behalf of the other three to get him to even set foot on the frozen pond.

If Sam was rooted to one spot and Frodo and Pippin—though eager—were as wobbly as newborn colts—then Merry was the picture of grace, looping and circling the others as he called out helpful (and…not so helpful…) advice to help them adjust to the cold, the ice, and the skates.

Sam was putting all his effort and focus onto not falling down (with mixed results); Frodo was laughing, but generally taking a slower, more cautious approach, getting used to one thing before trying the next; Pippin, on the other hand, threw caution to the wind as he tried to mimic Merry, laughing, slipping and falling, but scrambling up again to continue following the older hobbit.

All was going well, until the terrifying moment that the ice near Merry and Pippin began to crack, preparing to give way.

Merry’s eyes flew open wide, all traces of mirth gone in an instant. “Pip, get to shore— _ now _ ! Everyone  _ off the ice! _ ”

At once his fear spread to the others as they scrambled to do as he said—expect for poor frozen, terrified Pippin, now as still and stiff as Sam had been. Merry reached out for his cousin, shoving him towards where Frodo was waiting on more solid ice closer to shore. He saw Frodo catch and drag Pip to safety just as he felt the ice under his own feet give way.

He braced himself for falling into freezing water, praying he wouldn’t get dragged and trapped under the solid ice. But instead, there was a strong grip on his arms, Sam’s wordless yell of terror in his ear, and the next thing he knew, they were all four on blessedly solid ground, clinging to each other as their hearts still raced from the close call.

There was no talk of further games that day as the four youngsters made their way back into the comforting warmth and crowds of Brandy Hall. As of by some unspoken agreement, the day’s scare was rarely, if ever, spoken of; but from that day forward, Merry had no doubt:

Samwise Gamgee was not the most fearless hobbit that he knew—but he  _ was _ the bravest.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: Yeah, I had to include a LTOR one-shot given that the last collab fic Endurance and I did was a series of winter/holiday themed LOTR one-shots to finish up my ‘year of Lord of the Rings’ (watched the extended trilogy, Behind-the-scenes documentaries, read the Hobbit, the trilogy, and the Silmarillion—all for the first time. Well, except the Hobbit. But it was my first time making it through ALL of the books, so that’s how I’m counting it.)


End file.
